Hand guard for file



Fe 5, 1964 R. E. LlND ETAL HAND GUARD FOR FILE Filed April 5, 1962 w v n WHM W m P A wmm .r a

United States Patent O 3,121,938 HAND GUARD FOR FELE Raymond E. Lind, Fiossmoor, and Richard J. Venn, Stu,

Chicago Heights, 111., assignors to Remington Arms Company, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 185,474 1 Claim. (Q1. 29-78) This invention relates to a novel hand guard mounted on or integral with a file handle which is adapted to protect a users hand as well as the object being filed in the event of the file slipping while being used. More specifically, the invention is directed to a plastic hand guard which can be easily mounted on the end of a file and which is rigid enough to protect the users hand in case of accident and soft enough to prevent damage to the workpiece.

A common source of accidents for users and repairers of chain saws is in the hand filing operation whereby the necessary sharp angled edges on the cutter links are made by using a hand file. When the chain filer maintains enough pressure against the cutter, he often slips and his right (or left) finger is nicked on the sharp cutters. Although many types of gloves have been tried for hand protection, a common complaint against all gloves that afforded adequate protection was that the cutter lost his feel of the file on the cutter.

An object of this invention is to provide a file hand guard which:

(1) Will not interfere with the filing operation;

(2) Will protect the users hand from being injured in case of slipping; and

(3) Will not damage the sharp angled cutter edges in case of the guard hitting against the edges.

It is another object of this invention to provide a plastic hand guard for a file.

It is another object of this invention to provide a hand guard which is easy to make and adapted to be easily and quickly mounted or unmounted on a file.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, claim, and accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 shows the hand guard mounted on a file handle.

FIGURE 2 shows a perspective view of the guard only.

Referring now to the drawing, chain file has a rear end portion 12 mounted in the front end portion 14 of handle 16. The handle, of course, is provided not only to protect the users hand (since the end of the file is pointed) but also to protect the file cutting edges from harmful effects of having human hands touch them.

It can be seen, however, that the handle offers no protection to the users fingers in the event of the file slipping while being pressed against the sharp object being filed.

Hand guard 18 consists of a curved plastic dish with a central opening 20 therein. Flange 22 extends rearwardly from the front face of the guard around the periphery of the central opening.

Hand guard 18 is mounted on the handle 16' so that the handle end portion 14 bears on flange 22 of the guard. Being made of plastic, the flanges are deformable and grip the guard on the end of the handle. The guard can be quickly removed and mounted on another handle.

Although the use of plastic is mentioned above, it must be appreciated that other deformable, resilient or rubber-like materials can be used also. The material must be relatively rigid so as to provide adequate protection to the users hand but must also be soft enough so as not to damage the sharp angled edges of the workpiece.

Although the drawing shows only a deformable hand guard detachably mounted on a file handle, it must be appreciated that the hand guard 18 can be made integral with the handle 16. Any kind of fastening means well known in the art then can be positioned in the hand guard to hold the end of the file. it can be seen that such a combined handle-guard can be easily molded of plastic to provide an economical, functional, and integral file hand guard.

What is claimed is:

A hand file assembly comprising an elongated file having its rear end portion attached to a handle member, a hand guard adapted to protect a users hand when filing a sharp-edged workpiece, said hand guard comprising an integrall molded, plastic, dish-shaped member having rearwardly-extending, continuous flange means defining an opening having approximately the same configuration and size as the front end portion of said handle member, said handle front end portion being positioned within said opening and securely held thereto by means of an interference fit, said plastic, dish-shaped member being readily deformable and relatively soft so that in the event of the file slipping, the users hand will be protected and the sharp edges of the workpiece, which is being filed, will not be damaged by the hand guard.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 416,849 Neale Dec. 10, 1889 840,832 Everett Jan. 8, 1907 1,496,888 Kalinowski June 10, 1924 1,501,020 Small July 8, 1924 1,602,891 Everett Oct. 12, 1926 2,132,570 Leone Oct. 1 1, 1938 2,223,485 Eveleth Dec. 3, 1940 2,352,010 Robbins June 20, 1944 2,436,507 Ellwood Feb. 24, 1948 2,645,002 Dailey July 14, 1953 2,663,203 Fried Dec. 22, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 188,835 Great Britain Nov. 23, 1922 

